Lyme Disease In Gsd

[Guest K9_Lady]

Just curious and wondering if anyone has ever come across this.

 

My friends retired work dog who is a 10 year old German Shepherd has Lyme Disease. Rex stumbled while jumping from the couch one night and then was fine but did it happened again and he also lost a few pounds. My friend was concerned and her Vet decided to check him for tick Disease. It came back positive for Lyme disease and he started a regimen of doxycycline and has been on it for 3 months. He was just re-tested and now the titers are double of what they were originally! Have any of you ever heard of this? It is so frustrating and scary for her that after 3 months of antibiotics that the results doubled! Rex otherwise is fine and shows no symptoms.

 

Thanks in advance for your input!

Edited April 2, 2010 by K9_Lady

[greyhndz]

Some good info for you. The most important question is whether or not Rex is still symptomatic. If not, his rising titre should not be assumed to mean that his infection hasn't been adequately treated:

 

canine tick diseases

 

more about Lyme (technical - see paragraph below)

 

One or two of these criteria alone are usually not sufficient to confirm a diagnosis. A diagnosis based on clinical signs alone often remains questionable, for there are several other conditions, such as immune-mediated disease and rheumatoid arthritis that cause lameness and pain in dogs.

a) Serologic testing: An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or an indirect immunofluorescence assay (FA) with whole cell preparations or single recombinant antigens are useful for detecting antibody responses to infection as well as to vaccination. Antibody titers can first be detected in dogs between 4 and 6 weeks after exposure to infected ticks. In untreated infected dogs, antibody levels increase for several weeks, reaching maximum levels at approximately 90 to 120 days after tick exposure, and then remain constant for at least 22 months in the absence of re-exposure (Fig. 9). Despite high ELISA titers, viable B. burgdorferi organisms persist in dogs for more than 600 days, the longest period studied.

 

graph of antibody levels vs days after infection

 

(the graph shows that antibody levels start to peak at around 90+ days post infection. This would put Rex's rising Ab titre within the normal pattern.

 

Hope this helps!

[Rickiesmom]

There is a listserv dedicated to TBDs with many knowledgeable people on it your friend could join.

[Batmom]

Might want to contact the folks at the NCSU tick lab (just google that, you'll find it). They seem willing to advise/consult and are experts in these things. Best luck to your friend and her pup!

[Guest K9_Lady]

Thank you for all the great links!